Electric switch or rheostat



Aug. 9- H. w. BATCHELLER 2,479,396

ELECTRIC SWITCH OR RHEOSTAT Filed NOV. 30, 1946 lnventr Huc1h LUBOtChGHer Km UM ,EJWW,.

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Patented Aug. 23, 1949 2,479,896 nrnc'rmc swrrcn on nnrzos'ra'r Hugh W. Batcheller, Newton Highlands, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Ark-Les Switch Corporation, Watertown, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 30, 1946, Serial No. 713,234

' embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the rheostat with the housing member removed;

Figure 4 is an elevation of the structure shown in Figure 3 but from the other side;

Figure 5 is an end elevation of the structure shown in Figures 3 and 4;

Figure dis a perspective view ofthe bridging conductor used in the rheostat;

Figure 7 is a bottom view of the operating member of the rheostat.

While the invention is shown as embodicd'in a' fused rheostat, the improved features of struc- .ture have to do withthe parts by which electrical contacts'are made and broken and the members associated withsuch parts, irrespective of the Hence the structure hereinafter described is for convenience referred to as an electric switch.

The structure illustrated on the drawing com-f prises a base plate I ll from one face of which projects a partition plate I2, both of these plates being preferably of insulating material such as a molded synthetic resin. The plates in and i 2 may be separately molded and secured together or, as shown, may be molded together in one piece. A number of fixed contact elements I4, l6, and it are arranged against one side of the partition plate l2 near the juncture of this plate with the base plate l0. Opposite to these contact elements is an element 20 against the other face of the partition plate I2. The number and arrangement of the contact elements on the two faces of the partition plate may be selected according to the duty required of the switch. A portion of the partition plate l2 adjacent to the contact elements is thickened as at 22 so as to be flush with the outer faces of these elements. A bridging conductor 24 is provided to move on and off of these contact elements as desired, this bridging conductor being U-shaped and having two legs with contact points 26 on the ends there- 6 Claims. 01. 200-6) of to move across and press against the contact elements or the surface of the partition plate adjacent thereto. As indicated in Figure 2, the end of the partition plate l2 remote from the base plate It) is rounded so as to have an arcuate or semi-circular end edge 30. A portion of this end edge is preferably notched as at 32 to cooperate with a detent member 34 pressed against the edge by a spring 36, the detent member and.

spring being housed in a bore within an operating member 40. This operating member consists of a quadrantal body portion from which a finger piece 42 projects radially. The quadrantal body member is provided with a slot 44 (Figure 7) just wide enough to receive the arcuate end of the partition plate I2 which it straddles. The operating member is pivoted to rock about the arcuate end of the partition plate I 2 and to carry with it the bridging conductor 24 which also straddles the arcuate end edge of the partition plate l2 and rocks about the same axis as the operating member 40. The bridging conductor may conveniently be a stamping of sheet metal bent to the U-shape shown in Figure 6. The

- slot 44 in the operating member is widened as at 46 to receive the upperportions of the legs of the bridging conductor so that when the operating member is rocked about its pivot, it rocks the bridging conductor with it and causes the contact points 26 at the extremities of the bridgingconductor to move across the faces of the contact elements l4, l6, l8, and 20 and the surface portions of the partition plate adjacent thereto. The bridging conductor 24 is preferably of resilient material such as spring brass and the legs are bent with reference to the transverse portion of this member so that the ends 26 press against each other when free to do so. As a result of this, the ends 26 have to be sprung apart to mount the bridging conductor on the partition plate l2. This causes the legs of the conductor to press the ends 26 firmly against the side faces of the plate l2 or contact elements thereon when the switch is in use. This pressure promotes good electrical connection between the bridging conductor and the contact elements.

In order to provide a common rocking axis for the operating member 40 andthe conductor 24, a tubular pin 50 is inserted through aligned holes in the walls'of the operating member 42 on either side of the slot 46 and through holes 52 in the legs of the bridging conductor. This hollow pin 50 also passes through a hole 54 in the partition plate l2 suitably located concentrically with the arcuate edge 30 thereof. The detent member 34 3 is located in a bore which extends from the bottom of the slot 46 into the handle portion 42 of the operating member and projects through a hole 56 in the transverse portion of the bridging conductor so as to engage against the notched portion of the arcuate edge 30. Thus the operating member and the bridging conductor are yieldingly held in any one of a number of angular positions about the pivot pin 50 in which posi tions the points 26 of the bridging conductor are in contact with one or another of the contact elements on the partition plate or the plate surface adjacent thereto.

In order to enclose the switch, a housing member 60 is provided, thismember being preferably of insulating material which canbe molded to shape in the usual manner. This housing memher is open at one end so. as to abut against the base plate l and thus complete the enclosure of the switch elements. At the end of the housing remote from the base plate is an aperture 62 which is of suflicient size to permit desired swinging movement of the handle 42 which projects through this opening. The housing member 60 may be provided with a suitable bolt 64 by which the entire switch maybe secured to a support. In order to secure the housing member to the base plate In, aligned holes are made in its side walls, these holes being located so that when the housing member 60 is in its proper place abutting the base plate, these holes will be aligned with the bore of the tubular pin 50. A pin or rivet 66 projects through the side walls of the housing member 60 and through the pin 50, the latter being already inserted through the hole 54 in the partition plate I2, and thus secures the housing member to the base plate Hi. This arrangement facilitates-assembling of the parts of the switch. The tubular pin 50 is made long enough to extend through the operating member 40, but shorter than the distance between the side walls of the housing member. The housing member thus maintains the pin 50 in its position.

The several contact elements within the housing are connected with respective terminals on the outer face of the base plate I!) by means of conductors 10 all of which extend through the base plate Hi. This also simplifies and facilitates the manufacture of the switch. In the particular structure illustrated on the drawing, a resistance coil 12 is provided which is tapped at an intermediate point as at 14 to provide two resistance values, this coil being connected to the contact elements I4, I6, and 18. Also mounted on the outer face of the base plate is a fuse 16 which is connected to the contact element 20. These exterior members may be omitted or changed according to the service desired.

I claim: I

1. An electric switch comprising a base plate and a partition plate molded as an integral unit of insulating material, the partition plate projecting from a face of the base plate and having an arcuate end edge with notches therein, contact elements mounted on said partition plate near the base plate, electric terminals on the remote face of the base plate, all of said contact elements being electrically connected to respective terminals by conductors extending through said base plate, a bridging conductor rockably mounted on said partition plate and rockable to engage said contact elements, a handle member operatively connected to said bridging conductor to rock therewith, and a spring pressed detent element carried by said handle member and pressed against the notched edge of said partition plate.

2. An electric switch comprising a plate of insulating material having an arcuate edge portion with notches therein, fixed contact elements on both faces of said plate, a U-shaped bridging conductor straddling said arcuate edge and rockable about an axis concentric with said arcuate edge, said conductor having portions on opposite sides of the plate movable into engagement with said contact elements, a handle member operatively connected to said bridging conductor to rock therewith, and a spring pressed detent element carried by said handle member and pressed against said notched edge.

3. An electric switch comprising a plate of insulating material having an arcuate edge portion, fixed contact elements on both sides of said plate, a U-shaped briding conductor straddling said arcuate edge portion and rockable about an axis concentric with said arcuateedge, an operating member having a quadrantal body portion straddling said arcuate edge and rockable about said aXis, said operating member having a slot loosely fitted by a portion of said plate, said slot having a wider portion in which part of the bridging conductor is disposed whereby the operating member and bridging conductor rock together as a unit, and contact elements on both faces of said plate selectively engageable by said bridging conductor.

4. An electric switch comprising a, base plate of insulating material, a partition plate projecting from a face of said base plate, the end of the partition plate remote from the base plate having an arcuate edge with notches thereon, fixed contact elements on said partition plate near said base plate, a U-shaped bridging conductor straddling said arcuate edge of the partition plate and having arms on opposite sides thereof for engagement with said fixed contact elements, a pivot element extending through said partition plate and rockably supporting said bridging conductor, a handle member rockably mounted on said pivot element and operatively connected to said U-shaped member to rock together, and a spring pressed detent element carried by said handle member and pressed against the notched edge of the partition plate.

5. An electric switch comprising a base plate and a partition plate of insulating material, said partition plate projecting from the inner face of the base plate, a housing member abutting said base plate and enclosing said partition plate, a tubular pivot member extending transversely through said partition plate, a handle member rockably mounted on said pivot member, contact elements within said housing, a bridging conductor operatively connected to said handle member to be moved into and out of contact with said contact elements, and a fastening pin for said housing member extending through the side walls thereof and through said tubular pivot member.

6. An electric switch comprising a base plate and a partition plate of insulating material, said partition plate projecting from the inner face of the base plate, contact elements on both faces of said partition plate near its junction with the base plate, metal fastening elements for said contact elements extending through said base plate to the outer face thereof, a U-shaped bridging conductor straddling said partition plate and pivotally mounted thereon, said member having arms on opposite sides of said partition plate movable into simultaneous contact with selected UNITED STATES PATENTS contact elements, a housing member abutting said base plate and enclosing said partition plate, gggfif Pf 5 122 gg and an operating handle projecting from said 1 667965 Blauvelt g 1928' housing and operatively connected to said bridg- 1'860864 Koerber May 1932' mg 1971212 -De Reamer e; n

, a]. Aug. 21, 1934 HUGH BATCIEHER' 2,153,367 DeReamer Apr. 4, 1939 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the m Number file of this patent: 537,501

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date 

